The Odds Are We Will Probably Be Alright
by MageofMind
Summary: Kid AU Vytal is home to many kinds of people. There are the rich that sit in luxury all day, and there are the poor who steal just to stay alive. There are the people who don't like how the world is and aim to change it. Sometimes these people are children.
1. A Penny for some Sun

Penny's room was vibrant in colors and decorations. It was all happy, with toys neatly stacked and books put away in alphabetical order in the bookshelf. It was happy, but it was also orderly. It was lived in, but still had the foreign feeling when you move into a new house. Penny liked it that way, mainly because she didn't know any other way. Her day consisted of waking up, going to her classes for a few hours, and then going back to bed. She liked her life, mainly because she didn't know any other way.

She woke, hearing the bell go off for the first time that day. She got up and got dressed in her normal clothes, fixing her hair in a bright pink bow. Skipping down the long barren halls she makes it to the classroom. Since her family was rich, so she was homeschooled. Penny had her doubts about the logic, but she was happy anyways. Mrs. Goodwitch was a nice lady.

In the classroom were two desks instead of the normal one. In the one farthest from the door was a bored looking girl. Her hair was done up in an off center ponytail and her white dress was prim and proper. Eyes widening, Penny walks over, unsure of what to do. She had never met a girl her age before. "Hello there, my name is Penny!" she proclaimed loudly, startling the girl, her pale blue eyes containing a bit of fear in them.

"Oh. Hello, Penny. My name is Weiss." The girl's speech was chopped and practiced, as if she had said it many times over but never liked the sound of it. Smiling brightly, Penny sits down in the other desk just as Mrs. Goodwitch walks into the room.

"Hello, girls. Have you too introduced yourselves yet?" after receiving the affirmative, she continues. "Well, Penny, the Schnee family will be staying with us for a week or so. It's all business, you see. Something you wouldn't understand. Now then, are you two ready for class?" then Mrs. Goodwitch launched into a lecture about the history of dust and the Grimm.

After the class was over Penny had an hour break. Chasing after Weiss, she politely asked if she wanted to play. "Play? I'm not a child, I don't play. I read or I practice with Myrtenaster." Penny then stopped dead and walked away. There went a friend. Oh well, there would always be others.

Passing the kitchen, she hears a clamor. Peeking in, she sees that the cooks are chasing something. No, not something, some_one. _From what Penny could see, it was a small boy, no older than she herself was. He had wild blond hair, tanned skin, and a tail. Penny had never met a faunus before, so she motioned for him to come with her. Maybe she'd have more luck with this one.

Apparently desperate for an escape, the boy runs out the door, following Penny through the halls and to her room. There, she motioned him under the bed, whispering "Hide here." Just as he scrambled under, there was a knocking on her door. "Come in!" she chirruped happily.

In came her father, looking ruffled and frustrated. "Penny did you see a faunus run by here?"

"A faunus? No, I didn't know we had one living with us!"

There was a pause. "We don't. Just tell someone if you see him, ok?"

"Of course, father!" after he had left and trudged back down the hallway, there was a soft voice from under her bed.

"Can I come out now?" after answering in the affirmative, the faunus scrambled from under the bed, standing at least two inches below Penny. Like she had with Weiss, she stuck out her hand and introduced herself.

"Hello, I'm Penny!" The boy looked at the offered hand for a moment before he reached for it, dislodging a piece of bread from inside is shirt. Forgetting the hand, the boy hastily grabs for the bread, muttering something. "I'm sorry, I didn't hear you!"

"I said my name's Sun. Why'd you do that?" Penny paused for a minute, wondering what he meant.

"Did what?"

"You helped me. Why?"

"Because I had no reason not to." She replied simply.

"You had no reason to, either."

"Well, to make friends you have to take risks." Pointing to the bread, she asks, "Did you take that from the kitchen?"

"Yeah, I did. Sorry, do you want it back?" he held out the bread, hand shaking and thin.

"No, you can keep it as long as you tell me why you took it."

Looking at her with a surprised expression, Sun mutters, "I- well I don't have a family or a home. I need to get food somehow, so I have to steal it. Besides, I have some kids I take care of. I need the bread to feed them and me-"

"You don't have a home?" Penny interrupted.

"Um, no."

"Would you like one?" Sun stared at her for a minute.

"Yeah, I would." He finally said. Penny smiled brightly, knowing what to do. Walking over to her closet, she pulls out a big box. Then she purposefully walks out the door and down to the kitchen. There, she piled the box high with fruits and breads. If anyone asked what she was doing, she would tell them it was for a friend, and surprisingly enough they would back off. Making her way upstairs she stops at a closet in the hall, pulling out clothes, blankets, and shoes. When she got back to the room, Sun was still there. She handed him the box and he looked at it, puzzled.

"There, now you've got a home and supplies to live off of."

Looking at her with the same puzzled expression that she'd seen many times already, he muttered a faint "What?"

"Well, your home is where your heart is right?" She asked, poking him in the chest. "and your friends are where your heart is, so I guess I'm your home. I'll take care of you." There was his face again, confused by the innocent gestures of kindness from a child.

"Y-you think I'm your friend?" Penny viciously shook her head in the affirmative, pulling him into a tight hug. Hearing sniffling, she looks down and sees the boy is crying. Shaking him violently, Penny asks why he's crying. "I- I've never had any-anyone be so nice to me. I'm a f-faunus, and that means people hate me."

"Well you can consider me one less person that hates you!" Feeling the boy hug her back, Penny stays like that for a while, knowing that, no matter how small, she had made a difference in the world, and she liked it.

A knock came once again from her door, and she quickly shoved Sun over to the window, whispering, "Bye for now, friend. Come back if you need a reminder that you have a home now."

Once she was sure Sun was gone, Penny opened the door, revealing her father once more. Penny, you're late for your class, you have to get going." Nodding, she left the room, catching a glimpse of Sun, reluctantly leaving the room.

When Penny made it to the classroom Mrs. Goodwitch was already beginning a lecture about the war with the faunus. Sitting down, Penny patiently raises her hand. "Yes, Penny?"

"Why did humans fight the faunus?"

The question must have thrown Glinda for a loop, for it took her a while to answer. "Well, I guess it's because humans fear the things they don't understand."

"But why?"

"I- I don't know." Glinda answered uncertainly.

"Why do you even want to know?" Weiss butted in. "They are savages and don't belong in society."

The next thing Penny knew her swords were out and Weiss was on the floor, a look of horror in her wet eyes. A thin stream of blood ran down her face, and she burst into tears. Stumbling away, Penny runs back to her room, hearing Mrs. Goodwitch yelling after her.


	2. A Ruby for a home

**A/N: So in regards to age Penny is about nine, Weiss is ten, Sun is about seven, Ruby is about eight, Yang is only six. I'll list others as they come along and I know that these ages don't make any sense in regards to their ages in cannon but it's how the story is gonna work, so. Enjoy this chapter!**

Ruby lived alone with her uncle. It was a nice place, her home, with lots of land and plenty of time to herself. Her morning started with getting something to eat. Today it was bread and jam, stuffing it in her mouth, she was off. Outside had to always be protected. There were Grimm everywhere.

The early morning air was crisp and quiet, with only the occasional sound of a bird or a rustle in the bushes near the forest. She could see her uncle in the distance, standing in the golden wheat field. There was only so much open land where they lived, so they utilized all of it, living fairly well. It was a good life but lonely.

Grabbing her scythe, Ruby noticed something. There was a pack of Beowolves on the edge of the clearing. They seemed like they were around something. Afraid one of their few animals had escaped, she quickly runs over, seeing not an animal, but a young girl. She had long gold hair, and had a scared expression on her face.

Charging, Ruby attempts to take out the Beowolves, but realizes something. They may have looked like they were going to attack the young girl but they weren't moving forward or even growling. Scooping up the child, Ruby notices the Beowolves were leaving.

While it was a strange happenstance, it didn't warrant a second thought from Ruby, especially because of the child now hanging on to her arms. "Uncle Qrow! Uncle Qrow!" turning, her uncle notices her and puts down his scythe, almost identical to Ruby's.

"What've you got there sweetheart?" He asked, kneeling down.

"There were some Beowolves and they were all around this thing and I thought it mighta been one of our animals but it wasn't it was a girl and what are we gonna do Uncle can we keep her?" Used to Ruby's fast paced speech, Qrow looks at the child in Ruby's arms. She was almost too big for Ruby to carry, but she'd somehow managed to anyways. The child was clutching at the fastens of Ruby's cape, eyes scrunched tight.

"Oh, I don't know Ruby, maybe there's a family wandering the woods, maybe they got lost. You know that people aren't possessions right? We can't 'keep her' but if I can't find her parents we'll have to help her somehow." The young child blinked at him, realizing what he meant.

"You're LEAVING!?" Ruby shouted, waking up the child in her arms and causing her to cry. Snatching the girl, Qrow rushes back into their small home. In the closet he finds some blankets and small clothes from when Ruby was younger. He then starts shoving provisions into a bag and puts the child into a left over crib. Nothing was ever wasted in the Rose household, not even cribs apparently.

"But you can't leave! It's gonna be my birthday soon!" Ruby whines, pulling at the back of Qrow's shirt. Bending down, he ruffles her hair.

"Sorry, sweetheart, but I have to see if there are people out there. If they are, they're no match for all the Beowolves out there. I'll be fine though, and maybe I'll find something to give you for your birthday while I'm out!" Sniffling, Ruby nods, hugging her uncle tightly before he said a quick, "Bye, Ruby, see you soon!"

That left Ruby all alone, with a little girl who had finally stopped crying. Looking at her Ruby asks "Hello there, what's your name?"

Sniffling, the child mutters "Yang."

A strange name, Ruby thought. She had honestly expected her name to be Barbara or something. Getting up, Ruby sighed, wondering how she was going to get by without Qrow. Feeling a tug at her skirt, Ruby sees Yang, wet purple eyes looking into silver ones.

"Will the nice man find my family?" Picking Yang up, Ruby ruffles her hair, much like how Qrow would always ruffle hers.

"I dunno, Yang. But if he doesn't find them I'll be your family."

Sniffling, Yang hugs Ruby tightly. "But I thought you had to be related to be family. I've never met you. You look nothing like my family or my auty or uncle."

"Nah, you don't have to be related. If you adopt someone they're your family now and you have to take care of them no matter what."

"So does that mean I'm your sister now?"

"Yeah, I guess it does. Yang and Ruby, best sisters forever, right?" Smiling, they both went to bed, not even noticing the quiet lonlyness of the home, because they had each other now, and that was better than anything they could've hoped for.


	3. Why Not Smile?

The days in between the first and next time Penny met Sun was boring. She was stuck in her room as punishment for her actions. She didn't really know why. What would being locked in a room do to her? Make her regret what she'd done? If so it wasn't working, because she would have defended her friend if she was given the chance again.

That was apparently the case, for the next time Penny saw her father was about two or three days later. He poked his head through the door, looking prim and proper even for him. "Hello, Penny. Are you ready to say sorry to Weiss?"

"Why would I? She insulted someone and you always tell me to be respectful of everyone." Her father sighed and sat next to her on her bed, making a small _whomph _sound with the mattress.

"You have to understand, Penny. Weiss has had problems in the past with faunus. Her family doesn't… well they don't get along. Do you understand?"

"Yes, I suppose. But I will not say sorry to her."

Her father sighed again. "Yes, I suppose I can't force you. But we're going out to town today. You're old enough now, so you can come if you like."

"Will Weiss be there?"

"No, she won't."

"Then I'm coming!" Penny shouted, jumping up and rushing to change clothes so she could go out. She settled on a short black dress with tights and black shoes and fastened her pink bow into her hair.

The town was amazing. It was called Vale according to her father and this was her first time out. She begged and begged him to get leave to explore, and he reluctantly granted it. Before she knew it she was rushing through stalls and in and out doors, her pocket jingling with a few coins to spend on sweets if she wanted to.

It wasn't long before she heard a familiar voice call out "Paper, miss?"

Looking up she saw Sun standing on a streetlamp, paper in hand and a huge grin on his face.

"Sun!" Penny yelled, climbing up the streetlamp and tacking him to the ground.

"Woah! I didn't know you could climb that well!" He said from under her, his words muffled by the weight of Penny practically smothering him.

"You're not the only one in the world that can climb, monkey-boy!" Before they knew it they were both laughing, and running down the streets. Sun showed her all the best stores and it was dark sooner than they expected. And sooner then they wanted it to.

Sitting on a sidewalk they were enjoying some chocolate they had bought at a store called From Dust Till Dawn. "So how have you been these past few days?"

Sun looked up, his mouth half filled with half melted chocolate. "Well thanks to you I got a job. A real, actual job. They pay me and everything. Not sure why though, I'm like eight. I guess they're desperate for workers or they felt sorry for me. Either way it works in my favor so I don't really care."

"What do you mean thanks to me?" She asked, puzzled. She couldn't think of anything she'd done that would have helped him.

"I mean you gave me some supplies. I had spent so much time getting food to begin with that I never had time to do anything else. Now I have the time and I'm making use of it."

"Oh." She smiled.

Their peace was disrupted by a shout. An old man ran out of a shop, brandishing what looked like a rolling pin at a small girl with cat ears and black hair running away with what appeared to be a bag of bread. Jumping up, Sun muttered a faint curse and bolted towards the girl, Penny following closely behind.

The girl had taken refuge in an alley, where she was wedging herself between a trashcan and some empty cardboard boxes. Sun walked up to her and pulled her up, shaking her gently. "Blake, what have I told you about stealing? I have a job now, we don't have to steal!" He scolded her.

Blake looked to the ground, tears collecting at the corners of her eyes. "I- I know I ju-just thought-"

"Don't worry about it, Blake. Just don't steal anything else from now on, alright?" Nodding, Blake found herself back on the ground and her eyes found their way to Penny.

"Who are you?" She asked, pointing.

"Hello, my name is Penny!" Penny said with a smile. She knelt down to face the young girl and ruffled her hair, just in between her cat ears. "And I understand that you're Blake." Blake nodded, giggling. "Well, Blake, you are a pretty young girl. And talented too. I've never seen someone steal bread with such skill."

The little girl squealed and hugged Penny and Sun stood in the sidelines shaking his head, but he was smiling. "I don't need you to encourage her, Penny."

"Oh, but a beautiful girl like her deserves praise. In fact, I think she deserves a present." Penny rummaged around in her pockets and pulled out a square of chocolate and handed it to Blake.

"Now don't you go spoiling her, Penny. Besides, it's getting dark. We should be getting home soon Blake."

Blake made a whining noise but reluctantly went along with Sun.

Before they were out of sight, Sun suddenly turned around and ran back towards Penny and kissed her on the cheek. "Thanks for helping me. I owe you one."

That night Penny was lying in her bed, thinking about the day's events.

And she smiled.


End file.
